Jarrod Kimber, Shayan Ahmad Khan
Will Jacks went from a half-century to a century in just six minutes. The 25-year-old English batter ended his innings by smashing 28 runs off five balls – 6, 6, 4, 6, 6 – against Rashid Khan, one of the greatest spinners of all time in T20 cricket. Royal Challengers Bangalore had finished a chase of 200-plus by the 16th over, leaving batting partner Virat Kohli visibly awestruck.
But this wasn’t the first instance of Jacks scoring a T20 century at a rapid pace. He scored a ton off 41, 47, and 50 balls respectively in the SA20, The Hundred and the BPL. He now has hundreds in four different countries, all scored within 50 balls, which is an incredible feat.
In fact, Jacks even scored a 25-ball ton for Surrey in a pre-season T10 match against Lancashire in Dubai way back in 2019. The match was not officially recognised. Otherwise, it would have been the fastest century in representative cricket – four balls faster than Jake Fraser-McGurk’s List A hundred which came off 29 balls.
Picture Credit – CricketArchive
During that knock, Jacks also hit six sixes in an over, off left-arm spinner Stephen Parry.
“I think after the first few overs, my intention was to try and hit every ball for six,” Jacks said on ICC’s YouTube channel. “And I think after four sixes I thought… ‘I could hit six sixes here. I’ve never done it before.’ And it was nice to do it, something that I’ll cherish.”
In his latest century though, the start of his innings wasn’t fluent. Jacks was on 17 off 17 balls at one point in the game against Gujarat Titans, with Kohli (42 off 22) doing the heavy-lifting in their partnership till then. Jacks broke free with a six over midwicket off Mohit Sharma in the 11th over, and then produced a finish for the ages, ending with a flurry of clean hits in his 100* off 41.
The contrast between how he started and how he ended was stark. RCB needed 67 to win from seven overs, and Jacks ensured they got there in just three overs. He clobbered 63 off 16 balls in that time, while Kohli was largely an admiring spectator. Jacks had started as if he was playing a List A innings, and ended at T10 tempo – and that still made for an exhilarating T20 knock.
Before that hundred on April 28, Jacks had shown promise in a half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on April 21. The most fascinating aspect of his knock then – 55 off 32 – was how he took down Mitchell Starc in the final over of the powerplay, scoring 22 runs.
His century partnership (102 off 48 balls) with Rajat Patidar was the highlight of RCB’s innings, bringing the equation down to 86 needed from nine overs. However, both were dismissed by Andre Russell in the 12th over, and RCB eventually lost the game by just one run.
Apart from his whirlwind batting, Jacks has some handy contributions with his offspin too. He has bowled seven overs so far in the IPL, and has two big wickets – Rohit Sharma and Travis Head. His first two overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium might just have stopped them from crossing 300 that night, going for only 11 runs despite bowling to Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay.
His England career has been unique too. In Test cricket, he debuted as the second spinner and batted at No.8 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. He took a six-wicket haul and scored 30(29) and 24(13). He has also played seven ODIs and 11 T20Is.
His obvious ability has earned Jacks a spot in England’s squad for the T20 World Cup too. Whether he can find a place in the first XI or not remains to be seen, with the likes of Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Phil Salt in the mix for the top-order. However, with his role at RCB giving Jacks some much needed exposure to batting outside the powerplay, he could be a candidate to slot in outside the top-order for England too, a role he has already done in the recent past.
“It is something that I am adapting to. I started doing it in November in the Caribbean for England, so I have probably done it ten or a few more times,” Jacks said about batting at No.3 during a pre-match press conference ahead of RCB’s return clash against GT in Bangalore. “It is different. The hardest thing I found was coming in outside the powerplay. Normally when you face the first ball, you get a few to look at, and you can get your easy boundaries away and get yourself rolling. Outside the powerplay, you have to play yourself in and it is harder to be 17 or 18 off ten balls.”
From a long-term perspective, it makes sense for a T20 side to invest in a talent like Jacks. We are currently witnessing batters trying to ‘hit’ rather than ‘bat’ a lot more in the format. There is a mega auction expected ahead of the next IPL season, and he will certainly be among the players RCB will want to keep in their ranks. Whether they can do so or not might depend on the retention rules, but having Jacks in the squad gives RCB exciting options.
He could be a first-choice opener along with Kohli in the years to come. Imagine the carnage he could wreak with seven home games at the Chinnaswamy.
It’s been an eventful journey. The man who bowled 279 deliveries on Test debut is now at the cusp of possible T20 superstardom.
